First Trust Advisors LP Buys 123,808 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,323,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 123,808 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.36% of Eversource Energy worth $76,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $945,893,000 after purchasing an additional 4,585,232 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter worth $188,838,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579,818 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,561,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,474,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $371,829,000 after purchasing an additional 890,514 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ES stock opened at $56.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.15 and its 200 day moving average is $60.41.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.7525 dividend. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ES shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Profile

Eversource Energy, a public utility holding company, engages in the energy delivery business. The company operates through Electric Distribution, Electric Transmission, Natural Gas Distribution, and Water Distribution segments. It is involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity; solar power facilities; and distribution of natural gas.